Devoted Crane Alumni Swept Up in 125th Anniversary Festivities

Related Media

Dr. Gary C. Jaquay ’67 and Dorothy Albrecht Gregory ’61 pose next to a statue of Helen M. Hosmer in the concert hall named after her.

POTSDAM, NY (04/27/2011)(readMedia)-- With internationally-renowned conductor Helmuth Rilling on campus all week for The Crane School of Music's 2011 Spring Festival, students are working hard to do their very best in a series of rehearsals, masterclasses and lectures.

But even with all of that excitement, it would be hard to top the twinkle in the eyes of two benefactors who are reminiscing while joining in the week's festivities.

Dorothy Albrecht Gregory '61 and Dr. Gary C. Jaquay '67 are on campus to join in the celebration heralding the 125th anniversary of their alma mater, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

"Crane students already have some of the most gifted teachers and conductors, but this just goes beyond. It's icing on the cake," said Dr. Jaquay, who established the Adeline Maltzan Crane Chorus Performance Tour Fund, which brings distinguished conductors to The Crane School of Music for festival performances by the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra, and funds travel for major Crane Chorus performances to venues outside of Potsdam.

Gregory, who established the Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductor Fund, is excited to see the impact that both the 2011 and 2012 Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductors, Helmuth Rilling and Ann Howard Jones will have on Crane students.

"The thing I'm looking forward to the most is hearing what students are talking about," she said. "I would like students to feel as swept up as I was when I was a student with Nadia Boulanger conducting the Crane Chorus. For them to have that same experience of working with a world class conductor, I feel like I'm affirming what came before."

The Spring Festival will culminate in a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B-Minor with Maestro Rilling conducting the 250 student members of the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra.

Guest soloists from Germany and New York City will include soprano Julia Sophie Wagner, mezzo-soprano Sophie Harmsen, tenor Nicholas Phan and baritone Christòpheren Nomura.

The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, in Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall, with a pre-concert lecture given at 6:30 p.m. before the performance. There is no cost for the concert on April 30, but tickets must be reserved. To have tickets set aside, call the CPS Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or Crane at (315) 267-2812.

Gregory's sheet music from her time as a Crane student working under Boulanger was marked with penciled-in quotations and insights from the conductor. That music now resides in the Crane Music Library Archives.

For his part, Jaquay remembers performing under Robert Shaw and in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. With his support of the 125th celebration finale, he's now returning the favor to the many students who are following in his footsteps.

The Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra will perform the Verdi Requiem under the direction of the 2012 Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductor, Ann Howard Jones, in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City on May 1, 2012. This event is made possible through the partnership of both alumni funds.

The director of choral activities at Boston University, Jones will come to campus on Saturday, April 30 to offer a lecture alongside Doreen Rao from the University of Toronto in Ralph Wakefield Recital Hall from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. They will speak about Maestro Rilling's impact on today's choral conductors.

"It's an affirmation, by hosting these well-respected visiting conductors, to say to the world: We Crane students of the past, present and future, are excellent and we have the highest standards for performance," Gregory said.

"For me, having Helen Hosmer standing in front of Crane Chorus was one of the most thrilling experiences I ever had. I left the hall so excited, with a spirit that said, 'I can do great things -- I just need to work harder,'" Jaquay said. "I am so proud to give back to Crane, because it has rewarded me handsomely. Hopefully this legacy will go on forever."

The Spring Festival includes a full slate of workshops, conducting masterclasses, lectures, rehearsals and recitals. All events are open to the public, space permitting. For more information on the schedule of events, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/125years/schedule.cfm.

The final concert will be broadcast live over the Internet via video and mp3 audio stream, at www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

To learn more about Crane's tradition of innovation and its 125th anniversary celebrations, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/125years/index.cfm.

###

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011.

-www.potsdam.edu/crane-